Oil falls on COVID-19 surge but on track for weekly gain | Reuters

Oil falls on COVID-19 surge but on track for weekly gain | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Friday, pressured by fears about a slow recovery in the global economy and fuel demand due to rising COVID-19 infections, but the market remained on track for a second straight weekly gain, helped by hopes for a vaccine.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 51 cents, or 1.2%, at $43.02 a barrel as of 0741 GMT, after dropping 0.6% on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 fell 66 cents, or 1.6%, to $40.46 a barrel, having lost 0.8% on Thursday.

For the week, both were headed for a surge of about 9%.

U.S. government data also added pressure, as crude inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels last week, compared with an expected fall of 913,000 barrels.